Friday, June 10, 2016

30 Days of Love - Day 5: God Will Show You How to Love

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5 (NLT)

One of the most important things I’ve learned about walking in love is that it means different things to different people. How God leads me to walk in love toward the people in my life may be different than how God leads you to walk in love toward the people in your life. God knows what will reach them, and it’s not going to be the same thing for every person.

For example, giving some people a bouquet of flowers would be an appreciated gesture. For others, they may not be able to get beyond the thought that those flowers will just die in a couple of days. They might wish you’d given them some cash instead, so they could pick up some extra groceries for their family.

What’s awesome is that we don’t have to guess. If we ask God to show us how to love someone, He will. Since Jesus commanded us to love one another the way He loves us, of course He’s going to show us how to do it!

For each person in your life, especially the ones that you seem to have the most strained relationships with, ask the Lord to show you how to love them. (Remember, God’s love isn’t about feelings, so while you do what God directs you to do, you may not feel so emotionally hot about it.) If you think that a certain someone in your life is just too hard of a nut to crack, remember that you have a mighty big God, and nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:27).

Also, be wary of not acting on God’s direction because it doesn’t make sense (remember what I said yesterday about seemingly little things having a big impact). Maybe He’ll give you a “first step” of taking someone out for a cup of coffee. Or maybe He’ll tell you to send a handwritten letter to someone when you could just email them instead. Trust that God knows what He’s doing, and do whatever He says (John 2:5).

Homework:

God wants to give His wisdom to us, but we have to be open to it. If you’ve been feeling at a loss about what steps to take next, ask Him to show you! Write down what He tells you, and act on it.